Crayon holder



Um.- 11.9 31926. 1,603,7fl3

T. A, PETERSON CRAYON HOLDER Filed Dec. 3. 1924 INVENTQR Thomas A. Pei-W501 Patented Oct. 19, 1926.

UNITED STATES,

unions A. rnrnnson, or ONALASKA, WASHINGTON.

CBAYON Bowen.

Application filed December 3, 1924. Serial No. 753,538.

My invention relates to crayon holders such as are employed by lumbermen, and has for its object, first, the provision of a crayon holder which is convenient and easy to handle and which will protect the crayon from dama e through blows; second, the provision 0 such a holder which Wlll firmly grasp the crayon through a zone of some extent, that is to say, not at a pointbut rather spread over an appreciable portion of the length of the crayon and about 1ts ent1re circumference;-and third, the PI'OVlSlOn of such a holder which outside of the portion which actually grasps the crayon leaves the crayon free and clear so that no stresses are imposed on the portion outslde of that which is grasped, thus to avoid bending and breakin of the crayons, which are br1ttle.

y invention comprises the novel crayon holder and the construction and arrangement of arts thereof, as shown in the accompanying drawings, described in the specification and particularly defined by the claims terminating the same.

Figures 1 and 2 are axial sections through the crayon holder showing it in released unsprung position ready for the lnsertlon of a crayon, and in position closed about a crayon, res ectively.

i res 3, 4 and 5 are sections on the respective lines indicated in Figures 1 and 2.

The crayons employed for marking lum her are of some length, quite brittle, and hexagonal in cross section. Used without any holder pieces break from the end of the crayon and, lackin the means for preserving two pieces, an perhaps lacking the inclination to retain more than the one piece, or to save the smaller piece, it is generally customary for the workman to throw away the smaller end and to retain the larger end when such a break occurs. This is exceedingly wasteful of crayon. Crayon holders have been proposed for such purposes, of which the patent to Wilson, No. 1,012,229 is an example. Crayon holders heretofore proposed have enerall been of two types, each of whic is su ject to imperfections; one type grasps the crayon at a single point only, all the clamping stress being applied here, with the result that the brittle crayon breaks; the other type having the objection that the inner end of the crayon, the crayon being grasped and held throughout its lenggi, will break as the crayon and holder are nt or thrown about in use. The .Wilson patent 'shows a device having both objections. My crayon holder is designed, therefore, so that it will grasp the crayon uniformly over an appreclable zone, thus to distribute the stresses evenly, yet so arranged that this zone occupies but a relatively small proportion of the total length of the crayon,

and so that its inner end cannot touch the holder, and hence is free of stresses and cannot in any way be bent by flexure of the crayon holder or by the clamping action of the same.

Wood is preferred for such a crayon holder, for the reason that it may be made light yet of a size to be readily grasped, and may be made with thick walls to prevent the possib lity of flexure except as required in clamping. I have, therefore, shown a shell 1, preferably of wood, one end of the shell being split or divided longitudinally as indicated at 2 to form a series of fingers 3 spaced about this end. Generally six such fingers would be formed, the crayon being hexagonal. The shell at the split end is provided with threads 4, these being preferably coned and adapted to receive an internally threaded clamping ring 5, the threads in the ring being also preferably coned to fit the threads 4.

The shell 1 is bored from the end opposite the fingers 3, the bore 6 being made larger than the extreme diameter of the crayon G which is intended to be held in the holder. The end of this bore may, if desired, be closed by a plug 7 held in place by a ferrule 8, and through an. aperture 9 in the plug 7 may be passed a thong 10 which is slit, as indicated at 11, whereby the holder may be secured to the hand or wrist of the user.

The split end-of the holder is bored also, the bore, however, being less in diameter than the bore 6. The size of the bore is indicated at 12. After being bored the inside of the fingers 3 are finished, preferably by making the sides of the bore flat to fit the sides of the crayon C, and the bore is made flaring, that is, its outer end, in the normal unsprung position of the fingers 3, is made greater in diameter than at the point 12, which latter point is adjacent the base of the fingers 3 but preferably slightly outward thereof.

It will be seen that by this arrangement of bores there is left at the base of the fingers 3 a portion between the point 12 and the bottom of the slits 2 which is of less thickness than the main portion of the fingers, generally speaking, and which is somewhat more resilient than the remainder of the fingers. It follows, then, that the bend in the fingers as they are sprung by screwing up the clamping ring 5 on the coned threads 4, will take place chiefly in this zone, between the point 12 and the bottom of the slits 2. This condition is illustrated in Figure 2. The result -is that from the point 12 outward to the tips of the fingers 4, the fingers are brought to bear evenly upon the sides of the crayon C, and hold it firmly to prevent its slipping. Inward of the point 12, however, the crayon is unsupported, and even though the shell were bent or flexed, it would not be possible to break the crayon C as its inner end cannot bear against the sides of the bore 6. There is never any posibility, if in clamping the crayon it be thrown to one side or the other, to bring it against the bore so that by application of pressure in clamping it will break. By reason of gripping the crayon through a substantial zone from the point 12 outward, the total pressure applied need not be great and will not be sufiicient to break the crayon, even though it might not be straight throughout the length of the clamping zone, yet it is firmly held.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. A crayon holder comprising a wooden barrel axially bored to receive the crayon, axial slits formed in one end of said barrel to provide a plurality of crayon-gripping fingers, threads out in the outer ends of said fingers, and a clamping ring threading upon said fingers.

2. A crayon holder comprising a wooden barrel axially bored to receive the crayon, longitudinal slits sawed inward from one end of the barrel to provide a plurality of crayon-gripping fingers, tapered threads out about the outer ends of said fingers, and a coned clamping ring threading upon said threads.

. Signed at Onalaska, Lewis County, Washington, this 26th day of November, 1924.

THOMAS A. PETERSON. 

